Another Hiatus.

Hi everyone,

I'm getting really busy here at the U of I, with marching band, German, and of course the engineering curriculum beginning to pick up a lot of steam very quickly. So, I'm gonna put this blog on a hiatus, during which I will try to stay afloat.

Not going away permanently, just for a bit.

Till next time,

Vikram

One-Month Update, Part 1: The International Correspondence Initiative.

(I didn't include the actual letters for privacy reasons.)

Casio Calculator Watch! Finally. (Typecast)

America!!

photo credit to the University of Illinois

First pencast from college!

Sorry about the image--I only brought my small digital camera to school, no scanner...and since I'm running Debian OS 6.0.5 on my 2004 ThinkPad X31, I don't know if mine from home would work. Anyway...it would not fit on my desk along with all my other stuff! But yeah--college is great so far, especially since there are no classes as of yet and I am just in BAND from morning till night. It is fantastic.

Off to college!

Yep, just a quick mobile post--it's 4:36 am here and I'm leaving for college in a couple of hours, for band camp at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Lamy Vista fountain pen review

It’s been a cool two years or so since I bought this pen from a shop in Wiesbaden, Hessen, Germany—and honestly, it’s my favorite pen.

                Period.

                Everything from the totally-transparent , industrial modern styling to the smooth nib and comfortable writing makes this pen the top one, for me. It’s been a faithful companion for this time, even spending some time in a friend’s car while I wondered where my pen had fallen out of my pocket! Believe me, I was distraught until I saw it sitting in the cupholder a couple months later.

                The ergonomics may not suit everyone’s writing style, given that the pen’s molded triangle grip forces you to to hold the pen in the (correct) grip every time. Not a problem for me, as this was one of my first true fountain pens.

                What makes this one even more special for me is that I got it while I was on a scholarship-sponsored 3-week trip to Germany—it holds memories of that fantastic time I had there with it!

                Originally I used the Lamy carts I bought at the time I got the pen, but then my Dad gave me one of his Lamy converters, so I used his blue Parker Quink in it for the longest time. About a month ago, I had the chance to get some different ink, so I opted for this not-too-basic black Noodler’s Bulletproof Black. It flows really well, is really truly deep black, and waterproof—all qualities that the previous ink didn’t really have. I’m in heaven—and on my second fill of this awesome ink in this great pen.

                In any case, the fact that I’m rambling on about the man virtues of this pen (whoops—missed the fact that the nibs are totally user-interchangeable) tells you that it’s awesome.  If you’re in the market for a fountain pen, even if you already have a Safari, try some new ink in this awesome fountain pen, the clear, always-ready Vista by Lamy!

                [Another thing I forgot to add in the handwritten review is that you can always see how much ink is left in the converter, making it much more practical for everyday use; you know how much you can write before it runs out of juice!]

detail of the Lamy branding, minimal.

great pocket clip--actually useful!

posted.

detail of the nib. nib creep is due to the ink, noodler's bulletproof black